WASHINGTON TURNS 200

Though still a stopover town for Broadway tryouts and national tours, Washington has come into its own as a vibrant theater center with more than 20 professional outlets.

The city is home to large, professional theaters such as the Kennedy Center and The National Theatre, which is one of the oldest continuously operating theaters in the country. But it also contains a healthy network of semi-professional and regional theaters that are off the beaten path and offer an exciting lineup of contemporary, challenging works.

Here's a listing of some of Washington's more diverse theaters with phone numbers for tickets and information.

* Arena Stage - Sixth and Maine avenues, SW. (202) 488-3300

The Arena, managed by Producing Director Zelda Fichandler, is the city's premiere regional theater. The building actually houses two theaters, the theater-in-the-round Arena Theatre and the smaller Kreeger Theatre, plus a cabaret performing hall in the basement known as the Old Vat Room.

In recent seasons, the theater has been committed to multi-racial productions in an effort to involve different minority groups. Recent plays have included Chekhov's "The Seagull" in the Arena and Shakespeare's "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" in the Kreeger.

The complex is along Maine Avenue, near a string of popular waterfront restaurants.

* Ford's Theatre - 511 10th St., NW. (202) 347-4833

The theater gained notoriety as the place where President Lincoln was shot, but in more recent years it has presented a variety of Broadway musicals and concert acts. Each year, the theater is the site of a fund-raising gala attended by the president and aired on national television.

The theater is showing "Forever Plaid," a musical of '50s favorites, through July 7.

Though Horizons was scheduled to close last year, it has taken up residency at George Washington University's Marvin Center with the East Coast premiere of Marisha Chamberlain's "Nancy Drew, Girl Detective," an adaptation of the popular novels, through Monday. Upcoming is a production of "Strangers in Their Own Land," a drama about the children of Holocaust survivors.

The national arts center contains several performing halls for theater, including the Eisenhower Theatre, Opera House and Terrace Theatre. Currently playing to sold-out houses in the opera house is Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" through Aug. 31. Upstairs in the theater lab is the hilarious "Shear Madness," a whodunit spoof in a beauty parlor that's having an open run.

Since it was built in 1970, the Kennedy Center has been a noticeable shot in the arm to the Washington arts scene. The complex remains a must-see tourist attraction that offers a beautiful view of the Potomac River.

* National Theatre - 1321 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. (202) 628-6161

Owned by the Schubert organization of New York, the National Theatre often presents popular plays that recently have come from Broadway. Though dark at this time, the theater is offering up "Jerome Robbins' Broadway" in the fall, followed by "Private Lives" with Joan Collins and the musical "City of Angels."

In 1985, the theater was facing large deficits and its board announced the theater might close. An outpouring of community support raised funds and turned the operation around.

Dedicated to the plays of William Shakespeare, the Folger has gained national attention in the last four years under the direction of Michael Kahn. Combining finely crafted productions with celebrity actors such as Fritz Weaver and Kelly McGillis, the Folger offers four plays each season, which frequently are sold out.

Though a separate operation, the theater is in the same complex as the famed Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill. The 240-seat theater is styled after a smaller version of an Elizabethan theater. The Folger is presenting "King Lear" through July 7.

* Source Theatre - 1809 14th St., NW. (202) 462-1073

A longstanding semi-professional arm of the city's theater life, the Source continues to offer a variety of contemporary theater productions. The latest, Charles Bush's wacky Off-Broadway production of "Psycho Beach Party," will be presented through July 7. The theater will present the Washington Theatre Festival, a series of new plays, July 11-Aug. 11.

* Studio Theatre - 1401 Church St., NW. (202) 265-7412

Another of Washington's top-notch community theaters, the Studio will present "Oil City Symphony," a play about five band members returning to their high school reunion, Thursday through July 28.